Thursday, November 05, 2015

Piranhas Anyone?

We loaded up our boats, 10 to each and off we went with our guides for a bit of piranha fishing fun.

How does one fish for piranha?

Take a stick, tie a bit of line to it, add a hook! And then all you need from there is a bit of carne!

Bait the hook with the carne (meat) and attract the dangerous little fish by slapping the water with the tip of your pole.

Drop your baited hook in the water and…wait!

And you won’t have to wait long….but watch out, they will often strip your hook clean without you even knowing they’ve hit you!

We laughed and laughed as time and time again, hooks were pulled up empty, not a bit of carne to be found at the end of gleaming hooks.

Is this one too small to keep? LOL!

Hey! It’s a keeper!

Oh, and did I mention we were actually catching our DINNER for the night?!

Great job! It’s a good sized one!

Be careful removing that hook from that toothy mouth!

Orlando showing us how to handle the fish!

Oh my goodness!!

Look, Honey! Mine is bigger than yours was! Ha!

Oops, my hook’s been stripped again!

This is definitely going to take more carne!!

Hooray!!

Caught one! But too small, it has to go back!

Woot! Marie the Piranha Queen!

Now THAT’s a great picture!

Great job!

And yes there was dinner!

Deep friend, heads, tails and all!

EVERYTHING is served with lime here and it is so wonderful.

And just in case you were wondering just what piranha tastes like…..it has a flavor resembling fresh trout. VERY tasty! There is not a lot of meat on these little fish, the meatiest part being along the back on either side of the spine. just pick one up and start eating it – but watch for little bones as there are many. And definitely watch out for the jaws!

By the way – we’ve seen loads of jewelry here made with the piranha jaws. Several of us quilters are thinking we need to do a “thread test” and see if those little teeth would work as thread cutters in our carry on hexie bags..LOL!

There is more to come from our time in the Amazon.

In real time, we flew back to Lima last evening where we stayed at our airport hotel for an overnight. This morning we board another plane and head to Cuzco – a fabulous destination that I can’t wait to experience at 12,000 feet above sea level.

We’ve been told to pound the water down, to eat lighter and take it easy as our bodies adjust to the extremely high altitude where the air is pure – and quite a bit thinner!

What an life changing adventure you are on!! I've loved all your posts. So, how did the thread cutting test go on the little Piranhas' teeth? I watched a travel episode featuring Michael Palin and he got a haircut from a native gal with Pirahas teeth as her scissors!! If it works on hair, why not thread! Let us know. Hugs, Allison in Plano, Texas USA

It might have been more productive to eat the carne instead of the fish, but where's the fun in that? By the way, drink the mate (there's an accent over the "e" - pronounced "mah-tay") tea if you are offered it. When I was in Cuzco, the hotel had hot water and mate tea freely available. It helps with the altitude adjustment. You will find that the least exertion is very exhausting because your body is begging for oxygen. Cuzco is actually at a bit higher altitude than Machu Picchu, so if you can weather Cuzco, you should be good to go!

What fun to go fishing. Love your adventures Bonnie iT is so much fun to read your post every day. Hope you stay well . I have elevation sickness so Am glad i Am not their. Lol. Have fun. Yoka Bazilewich

Glad no one fell in the water. Dang. I had never heard of eating the prianaha. That's one way of getting rid of them. I'm like an earlier commeter... I wouldn't want to get the hook out of the mouth of one of those little dudes.